People are busting out of static residential living and boring corporate serfdom and embracing a new life of freedom, beauty, adventure and joy. The movement is the gastronomad lifestyle - endless travel out of love for food and culture. Instead of living in one place, then becoming an occasional tourist on vacation (where you're on the outside looking in), gastronomads become "temporary locals" wherever they go, immersing themselves in community and culture. But how? The secret is to travel and work at the same time! It's a world of endless possibilities. The gig economy, the sharing economy, the app economy and crowdsourced content - as well as ubiquitous internet and powerful mobile devices - enable almost anyone to live almost anywhere and still build a thriving, exciting and rewarding career. Journalist Mike Elgan has been living and writing about the gastronomad lifestyle for a decade, and shares all his secrets in this surprising book, including how to: pivot your career to become location independent grow your income and shrink your cost of living downsize to a small "home base" and spend half your rent abroad find dream locations to live in explore the world's most amazing food cultures create a new life that brings you joy Going gastronomad is much more than embracing a way of life. It's a state of mind. Whether you're just thinking about traveling more - not as a tourist but as an intentional traveler - or want to quit your job, sell your home and spend the rest of your life exploring the world, this book will transform how you think about travel, food and life itself!

‘The point of this book is to explore my ideas for sartorial satisfaction, to tell the stories associated with my love of clothes and fashion, and to share the message of accidental sustainability.’ When Peta Mathias dug through the clothes she had stored away for twenty years in her shed, she realised it was full of valuable, beautiful items that were crying out to be worn again: ‘Fashion is mysterious, irresistible and alluring . . . they are not just frocks — they are beauty, art, history, emotion, memory, identity and, above all, joy.’ From this arose a new appreciation of buying well but cannily, so your clothes will not bankrupt you nor go out of fashion. Reviving her neglected wardrobe, Peta revelled in mixing fabrics, colours and patterns, considering how to make an impact and how that dull pair of shoes can be transformed into something just a little bit fabulous.

Funny, passionate, outrageous and honest, this is a memoir about travel, house renovations, food, music, men and change. ‘I’ve escaped more houses than I’ve said Hail Marys.’ Peta Mathias has been making major moves since leaving home to train as a nurse, before living in Canada, London and later France, where she set up her own restaurant. Although she returned to New Zealand, writing food books and making television series, she continued to yoyo back to Europe and started culinary tours to Spain, Italy, Morocco, India, Vietnam, and the recurring attraction: France. In this ‘memoir of sorts’, Peta looks back at the patterns of her life while she embarks on the next big stage in it: selling her beloved cottage in Auckland to buy a dilapidated old house in Uzès in the south of France and transforming the old wreck into a stylish home and cooking school. This new domesticity is set against her nomadic instincts and past history of running away from all conventional expectations of settling down. Spiced with recipes, the thrills and tribulations of reinventing yourself and her trademark humour, this book is really about never putting all your eggs in one bastard.

This season's fashions are good enough to eat; in fact they are entirely edible. In A MATTER OF TASTE Fulvio Bonavia fuses haute couture with cuisine with results that are guaranteed to tantalize fashionistas and foodies alike. Step out in style in a pair of corn espadrilles. A tagliatelle belt makes for a delicious main course, but should always be worn al dente. Later, for dessert, you can dine on fruit-paste bangles and a cheese necklace, then dance the night away in a pair of aubergine slippers. Accompanying Fulvio's images is a delightful culinary text by New Zealand's 'queen of food', writer Peta Mathias, ensuring that each item is worn with delectable style. May you never go hungry, or naked, again...

Based on more than a decade of ethnographic research in Genoa, Italy, Creative Urbanity argues for an understanding of contemporary urban life that refuses scholarly condemnation of urban lifestyles and consumption and casts a fresh light on an oft-neglected social group—the middle class.

In her bestselling guide Can We Help it if We're Fabulous, the irrepressible Peta Mathias shared her thoughts on being a woman. Now, with Just in Time to be Too Late, she turns her attention to what it means to be a man in the 21st century. What makes men cry? Why are bad boys so irresistible? What exactly is the point of sport? To what extent is a man's self worth connected to his job? What do men look for in a relationship? Does a man ever get over his first love? Why do men lie? What does he need to be happy? And, of course, why are men like buses? These are just some of the vexing questions Peta looks for answers to. Though she has been married and has had her fair share both of meaningful relationships and flirtatious dalliances, Peta is the first to admit that she knew very little about the opposite sex when she began work on this book - 'A virgin would know more about men than me because she's probably listened more.' Consequently Just in Time to be Too Late is an account of Peta's own discoveries as she delves deeper into the mysterious world of men - a highly personal and frequently hilarious pilgrimage that will resonate with women everywhere.

A fabulous, exuberant book of food, travel and humour by two of New Zealands's best-loved cooks. Peta Mathias and Julie Le Clerc are in love with food, in love with travel and in love with India. In her characteristic exuberant, evocative and hilarious style, Peta relates how they got to know this fascinating country through its cuisine: be it street food, feasts, or an everyday meal cooked on the floor of a tiny shack. They have travelled to tea plantations in the mountains, stayed in palaces and slept on a train: that 'wonderland of unmitigated, primeval swamp muck'. While Peta has led various culinary tours, Julie has established a patisserie in an upmarket New Delhi hotel. This is no superficial flirtation with the country, but a full-blown love affair. The over 60 recipes showcase distinct regional traditions, passed on from the generous people they have met. Carefully chosen and adapted to be easy for the home cook, they are all mouth-wateringly delicious. They include such delicacies as Rajasthani white lamb curry, coriander cardamom chicken, almond sweet pudding and rose-petal ice cream. Julie's fabulous photographs convey the colour of the country, and are almost good enough to eat. Shortlisted for the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, the Best in the World for Indian Cookery (to be announced on June 9 in Yantai).

This edited volume explores, theorises and critically investigates different facets of the new world of work.

I wake up in the morning and throw the shutters open. It's dawn and the first prayers of the day have just hurled over the rooftops of Marrakech. Breakfast is home-made jam, honey, tea, freshly squeezed orange juice and a basket full of freshly baked, still warm breads - m'lawi, flat bread, pancake and croissant. And with this, the irrepressible Peta Mathias begins her culinary adventures in one of the most exotic locations on earth: Marrakech in Morocco. From the beautiful and eccentric Hôtel du Trésor and the souk at Ait Ourir, to the traditional home kitchen of Mohamed and Latifa and the exquisite cafes and pattiseries in the medina, discover the food, people and atmosphere that defines Marrakech. Based on the six-part television series Peta Unplugged in Marrakech.

Travel with Peta Mathias on a culinary journey through Vietnam, from crowded Hanoi and Ha Long Bay in the north, through the ancient imperial city of Hue and romantic Hoi An in the centre, to the food capital Saigon and the country's bread basket, Can Tho, in the south. Everywhere she goes she walks the markets, meets the people and samples the local fare - in homes, on the street and in a variety of restaurants. She discovers a rich culture and an engaging people who, despite occupation by the Chinese and the French, have retained a unique cuisine that is fresh, healthy and tasty. With more than 20 recipes, this book is designed for the armchair traveller and for anyone who wants to know more about Vietnamese food and culture.